The Next Morning
Jun An did not wake up to find the adorable Teresa snuggling in his embrace as he had imagined. Instead, he found the world's cutest Archbishop sitting in the living room, looking guilty with a sign of shame hanging around her neck.
"Teresa!"
Jizi was beside herself with anger. "You just gave the captain a scent yesterday! At eleven or twelve, and you went from the living room to the bedroom! In MY room! And you wanted to take advantage of the morning for another round!"
"Ugh! Disgusting! I locked the door!"
"You could have just spent some money on it, even if it meant hiring someone! It wouldn't cost much, even if it was a secret rendezvous?"
"A rabbit knows not to eat the grass by its burrow!"
The more Teresa listened, the more her face burned with shame, yet she still tried to explain. "It's mainly because he fits just right now. If we wait until he's older, it'll probably be quite painful, don't you think..."
By then, it might not even be about pain but whether it could fit at all, considering how much the Captain would grow. By that time, she would barely reach his waist, and the size would be completely mismatched.
"Ah? You dare say that?!"
Jizi was even more furious. "Don't you feel any guilt about doing this to a child you took in?!"
This was absolutely intolerable for Jizi! If it was just like the doctor said—finding a boy who resembled the captain to substitute, then maybe Jizi would have tried to persuade her. After all, she understood how heavy the loss of the captain weighed on each of them.
But for her to bring someone back and immediately do this?!
To put it mildly, this was a matter of humanity and character. To put it more seriously, this was a high-ranking Archbishop targeting a young boy! How could she, a priest, go down such a path?
What about the extra effort she put in until this morning, working overtime, and even moving two large boxes to her dormitory for her?!
"Well, that is a bit true," Teresa said, unable to meet Jizi's gaze. After all, it was her fault for sneaking away first...
"Then do you want to join in?"
"Huh, join in?!"
Seeing that she wasn't learning her lesson, Jizi immediately grabbed Teresa by the ear. "Teresa, you..."
"Captain!!"
At that moment, Teresa's keen senses picked up the familiar scent of the captain in the room and spotted him peeking. "Captain! You need to explain to Jizi! You were clearly very happy last night, weren't you?!"
Jun An silently turned his face away and slowly closed the door.
"What the hell are you closing the door for?!"
"I feel like I'm going to get scolded too, no way! Plus, I'm not wearing pants!"
"What does that matter! You're being raised by both Jizi and me. It's not like we haven't seen you naked before!"
"Well, I don't need to be saying these things while I'm naked!"
"You have no clothes to wear anyway! Just explain yourself first!"
Teresa immediately chased after him to push the door, and Jun An, trying to close it, exerted himself. After a brief stalemate, he finally lost to Teresa due to the difference in strength.
Seeing the two of them bickering, Jizi couldn't help but doubt whether this little Jun An was the real deal. After all, he did have a birthmark on his inner thigh.
"Stop arguing, just wear my clothes for now," Jizi said, quickly finding Jun An a men's shirt and a pair of her old jeans that had been gathering dust since they were one size too small.
"Alright, Captain, explain how you're alive!" Teresa immediately hid behind Jun An.
Naturally, Jun An couldn't reveal that his revival was related to the system, so he made up a story, saying that his consciousness had been asleep like Sirin's until yesterday when the timing was right for his rebirth.
"Jizi, if you still don't believe me, then I'll mention something only we know."
Jun An thought for a moment and said, "Jizi, you once had Bronya help you brew a bottle of '82 Lafite just to drink good wine. But since Lafite's shelf life is only ten years, you ended up drinking a bottle that had expired for twenty years, which made you vomit to the point of exhaustion. I was the one who took you to the hospital."
"I still remember you had your stomach pumped because this was too embarrassing for you as the second-in-command of the Eastern Branch, and you didn't let Bronya and me tell anyone."
"T-That's something Teresa already knows! Who knows if she didn't tell you!"
Jizi coughed twice. "Say something else that others don't know."
"Are you sure?"
"Sure!"
Jun An had no choice but to say, "You occasionally try on Teresa's dresses, thinking you might look cute in them."
Eh!?
Jizi instantly realized something was off, but it was too late to cover Jun An's mouth.
Jun An continued, "When I was little, you asked me to sleep in your room, but the real reason was so you could use me as a pillow at night while you slept beside me..."
"Stop! Stop!!! I know you're the captain now! I know you're the captain now!!"
Jizi, almost in tears, covered Jun An's mouth and whispered, "By the way, you should have given me a hint when you woke up!"
"I did give hints, but every time you thought I was just turning over and felt relieved, thinking it was more stimulating..."
Jun An believed he had done everything possible to remind her.
"I said I got it! This is my fault! Just keep it to yourself!" Jizi sighed helplessly. "Why didn't you send a message on the account before coming back? I thought Teresa was going to turn into a priest!"
"I have nothing but those two boxes," Jun An sighed. "Later, I'll have to trouble you to help me buy some usable clothes, a phone, and daily necessities."
Right now, apart from an empty room and two boxes of yen, he truly had nothing. Even the clothes he was born with had been ruined by Teresa and were unwearable.
"Okay, I'll go with Teresa to help you buy some clothes and a phone. I'll also let the others know you're back to avoid any misunderstandings."
Jizi was very understanding and immediately dragged Teresa away by the ear. "Also, Teresa, we'll have to discuss the matter of you sneaking away later."
"Ow ow ow! I admit my fault about the sneak away, but can we negotiate about contacting the others?"
Teresa pushed Jizi's hand away and looked at them with pleading eyes.
Jizi and Jun An were a bit puzzled. "Why?"
Teresa's gaze darted around. "After all, the captain's revival is quite extraordinary. If we directly post on the account, it will surely be mistaken as a hacked account, bringing a lot of trouble."
Especially since the captain's account was still that of an S-rank knight. Once revived, who knows what kind of chaos would ensue? Mei might interrupt her work, Eden and the others might immediately stop their concert, and Qiyana might impulsively return from the moon...
"In short, many people hold important positions in various fields around the world, and their time can't simply be rearranged, but they would definitely rush back for the captain."
Teresa leaned closer to Jun An. "Young captain, you wouldn't want to cause trouble for their future work, would you?"
"Well, that's true," Jun An replied. Others were fine, but if Qiyana really ran back from the moon, just the chaotic energy she exudes would be enough to cause a major disaster.
"Jizi,"
Seeing the captain agreed, Teresa pulled Jizi out the door and whispered, "Don't forget, the captain is super busy! The time he can spare for us is already very limited!"
Jizi thought about it and realized that since the Third Great Collapse, Jun An had been running around everywhere, eliminating the Collapse and the Collapse Beasts. Coupled with his heavy workload, he really didn't have much time.
"But..."
"Three rounds," Teresa interrupted.
Jizi wanted to say something else, but Teresa dropped a bombshell.
"Now that the captain and I are in love, if you agree, not only will I help you level up, but I'll also give you three rounds!"
"Teresa, this is where you went wrong!"
Jizi immediately became serious. "And for the part where you snuck away, that's ten rounds."
"Impossible, five rounds at most."
Teresa said, "Otherwise, let's not play at all."
"Deal."
Thus, after negotiating, Jizi and Teresa began to help Jun An buy clothes and daily necessities. As for the matter of Jun An coming back to life, it was currently kept secret due to Teresa's strong insistence. They would visit everyone one by one when they had the time.
Watching them leave, Jun An began tidying up Jizi's room and the mess in the living room.
"System."
[I'm here.]
"I wasn't brought here for no reason, was I? What's the mission?"
[Mission content: Investigate the cause of the host's death a year ago and give the perpetrator a beating.]
[If necessary, this system will provide the most suitable imprisonment process for repeated interrogations, and if necessary, can execute them.]
[Mission reward: Return to the host's original Earth for a year or randomly obtain a Herrscher's power.]
"I feel like you have some personal grudges regarding this mission."
[Note: I am just an emotionless system, assisting the host in correcting the world line.]
[I'll repeat, I am just an emotionless system.]
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End of chapter